PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — House members in the Idaho Legislature voted in favor of the "Greater Idaho" movement this past week.
The approval means Idaho representatives want to begin talks about relocating the Oregon-Idaho border, which is something many people in eastern Oregon have been waiting for.
The "Greater Idaho" movement proposes that nearly everything east of the Cascades - except Bend - becomes part of Idaho. Currently, there are eleven Oregon counties supporting the move.
The move would significantly shrink the map of the Beaver State to about only 1/3 of its current landmass.
An Idaho representative told KATU last week's vote was a "first major step,” but there are still a lot of hurdles to overcome. For instance, what will happen with the "Greater Idaho" bill when it goes to the Idaho Senate? And what does the movement's future look like in the Oregon Senate?
Matt McCaw, a spokesperson for the 'Greater Idaho' movement, spoke to KATU Sunday to discuss its progress.
"The people of Eastern Oregon are much more similar to the people of Idaho than they are to the people of West Oregon in almost every way: socially, culturally, economically, politically," he said. "They would prefer state government from the state of Idaho to the government that they've got from the state of Oregon."
Congressman Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., who represents the state's second Congressional District, also joined KATU Sunday to discuss the border issue. He has more direct familiarity with the "Greater Idaho" movement, since he lives on the Oregon-Idaho border.
"I didn't used to support it," Rep. Bentz said. "But I have to tell you, after some of the ballot measures I've seen, and also some of the activities in Salem, I can sure see why people would be drawn to support it."
"I've done very little work on trying to figure out on how such a thing would actually play out, so I've not taken a position of support."
"But I must say," Bentz continued, "It's really sad that we would be looking at such a dramatic change. We can attribute it to overreach by the urban areas, particularly Portland, in trying to impose whatever their standards are on the rest of the state."
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